Online Youth Mental Health First Aid Course
Early intervention is absolutely crucial in reducing the possible lifelong impact of mental ill-health on adolescent development, so having adults who are trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid is important.
This course is for anyone who teaches, works lives or cares for young people aged 8 - 18.
By training your staff in Youth MHFA you will:
- Equip staff and students with the appropriate language to be able to talk about mental health and ill health in an appropriate and de-stigmatising way
- Help your staff to feel supported and confident in their ability to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health in young people and respond appropriately
- Enable students to access support early, limiting the impact of mental ill health on their development
- Create a climate where those with a long-term mental health issue can receive the support they need to flourish
Course Structure
The Online Youth Mental Health First Aid course is an online version of the face-to-face Youth Two Day Mental Health First Aid training. It is a blended learning course with 4 instructor-led live sessions to attend virtually as well as guided, individual learning tasks to complete online. Individual learning tasks will be based on a combination of videos, workbook activities and reading. This can be completed at your own pace in advance of each live session.
The total time commitment is around 15 hours and is very similar to the two day course but it is spread out over the course of a week.
Online Youth MHFA Course Structure
Our open programme of courses that you can book onto as an individual or a small group have different options to suit your own needs best.
The live sessions are either morning or afternoon sessions and are led by one of our approved MHFA England Instructors and are interactive, involving presentation of slides, video clips, activities, discussion and case studies, which you will explore as a group to embed learning.
You will be given a log-on to the new MHFA England Online Learning Hub and should plan to log on at 09:30 on the day of your first live session. If you have any difficulties with the technology we will have someone available by phone to help you sort them out before the session starts at 10:00.
You need to complete activities 1 – 7 prior to the Live Session 1. Once a live session has taken place, the next set of activities you need to complete will be made available to you.
Course Content
The online Youth Mental Health First Aid course qualifies you as a Youth Mental Health First Aider, giving you:
- An understanding of young people’s mental health and factors that affect wellbeing
- Practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental health issues
- Confidence to reassure and support a young person in distress
- Enhanced interpersonal skills such as non-judgemental listening
- Knowledge to help a young person recover their health by guiding them to further support
- Ability to support a young person with a long term mental health issue or disability to thrive
- Tools to look after your own mental wellbeing
The youth MHFA course covers the following content across 4 sessions:
Session 1 - Introduction Individual learning (1 hour 15 minutes):
Live session (2 hours 35 minutes):
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Session 2 - Depression, anxiety and self-care Individual learning (1 hour 15 minutes):
Live session (2 hours 10 minutes):
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Session 3 - Suicide and psychosis Individual learning (1 hour 20 minutes)
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Session 4 - Self-harm, recovery and action planning Individual learning (1 hour 35 minutes)
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It is important to recognise that this course covers material that you may find emotionally triggering. Your self-care and your safety throughout the course is very important. You should consider identifying someone who could potentially support you during or after the course if you need it.
Qualification Details
This online training will qualify you as a Youth Mental Health First Aider and you will receive a MHFA England certificate on completion of the course. There are no pre-requisites to attend but you should have a strong interest in the subject.
Q. What is the difference between the Youth MHFA Two Day course and the Online Youth Mental Health First Aid course?
The Online Youth Mental Health First Aid course has been developed to ensure that our proven Mental Health First Aid training can continue to be delivered where social distancing measures may prevent face-to-face delivery. We have taken the time to tailor the learner experience to suit the online environment and are confident that the Online Youth Mental Health First Aid course delivers the same learning outcomes as the face-to-face Youth MHFA Two Day course.
It is not a replacement for our face-to-face classroom based Youth MHFA Two Day course. However, it will be a permanent and powerful alternative option for delivery. This course can be delivered where classroom learning may not be possible, or when clients or learners would prefer the alternative accessibility and flexibility of an online course delivering the same learning outcomes.
Booking a Course
Our public online course dates are listed below. You can book and pay online directly or reserve your place and request an invoice.
If you would like to book a private online group course for staff at your workplace please contact us by phone on 0207 193 2608 or email: info@reactfirst.co.uk to schedule the live sessions on times and dates suitable for you.
First Aid Courses
- Mental Health First Aid Training
- Sports First Aid Courses
- Outdoor First Aid Courses
- First Aid At Work Courses
- Defibrillator (AED) Courses
- Basic Life Support (BLS) Training
- First Aid for Schools Courses
- First Aid Instructor Training
Booking
First Aid Tips

When you come on one of our first aid courses you'll notice that we no longer talk about the "Heimlich manoeuvre" when dealing with choking. Instead we call the same movement an "abdominal thrust" and we also give you an alternative action, back blows, to try to dislodge the blockage first. Why is this?